Hawker Siddeley Sea Harrier

BAE Systems ' Sea Harrier is a mobile-based (generally maritime) defense and intervention fighter . It was the world's first jet aircraft to take off and land vertically and was created for the British Navy from the Hawker-Siddeley Harrier . It joined the RAF in April 1980 as a Sea Harrier FRS1 . The last version was the Sea Harrier FA2 . Known informally as the " Shar ", the Sea Harrier was withdrawn from RAF service in March 2006 [ 1 ] and was replaced by the Harrier GR9 .

Development

In 1966 , the British Navy canceled the design for the CVA-01 class of aircraft carriers , which suggested the end of its involvement in carrier aviation with fixed-wing aircraft. However, the early 1970s saw the planning of "exposed deck cruisers", a designation carefully used to avoid the term aircraft carrier , in an attempt to increase the likelihood of financing. These ships eventually became the Invincible class . With minor modifications, a launch ramp was added to the 170m deck that allowed these vessels to operate a small number of V/STOL jets .